The style and quality of workmanship on these panels suggests that they were produced by one of the lacquer factories established in the second half of the 18th and early 19th centuries in Braunschweig. Both Stobwasser and later his principal competitor, Stockmann, were famous for their lacquer tobacco boxes but both produced a variety of other lacquer wares, including trays, lamps and coffee services. Copies of contemporary paintings were also made, such as the present pair, generally costing between 60 and 80 florins. See Detlev Richter Lacquered Boxes, Schiffer Publishing, Pennsylvania 1989, pp.50 & 57.